Hey, Angel
by RainbowVeins1612
Summary: Amelia was one of the first in the maze and she was the first - and for the longest time only - girl. She didn't know why she was there but she tried to make the best of it until something happened that changed everything, something that could never be fixed. It broke her, but maybe he could put her back together hen others couldn't? (Terrible summary, I'm no good at these.)
1. Chapter 1

I'd been in the Glade for as long as I could remember, but that wasn't any different to anyone else here since no one remembers anything of their life before now. I'm different though, I was one of the first to arrive in the Glade, first Alby, then a young boy named George, then me. Alby and I were very close once, we were both roughly the same age, I was perhaps a little younger and though we fought occasionally in the end we were the best of friends. It was different with George though, he was my friend of course but I felt more of a mother to him too and Alby a father. George was young, too young. We'd been together for about three months when someone else showed up, same way we had, in the box with no memories of where he came from and only the clothes on his back to his name, which we found out a day or two later was Billy.

From there it just kept happening, once a month a new boy would arrive and know only his name, fights began to break out about how things should be done and it came time for us to elect a leader. George and I pressed Alby to ask for the position since he'd been here the longest but he wouldn't ask for it, in the end a boy named Nick assumed the role, with Alby as his second in command.

Things in the Glade were good for a while and Alby, George and I were happy, till one day George went missing. He'd wandered off many times but it had never been for long and had never been very far, the Glade wasn't that big and no one except the nominated Runners ever ventured out of it, except that day. George had only gone a few feet outside the door before he'd seen the vines and plants growing on the side of the wall. He'd climbed them without much effort.

I had been tending a plot of vegetables when Id heard him call out for me, "Am-ee-lia!" He'd sounded out each syllable and it had echoed across the glade. I ran a dirty hand through my copper coloured hair and looked around me to see where his voice had come from, "Georgie?" I called back when I was unable to locate him,

"Amelia, up here!" He replied and sure enough when I looked up, there he was stood on top of the wall that surrounded our home, my stomach flipped with dread and a horrified look crossed my face.

"Georgie you get down from there!" I yelled and then looked over my shoulder and called for Alby, he didn't take long to appear, he never did when I called.

"What is it, Amelia?" Alby asked and I pointed up to where George stood on top of the wall, waving down at us. Alby's horrified expression mimicked my own as he insisted that George get down.

A crowd had gathered around us now - at least what was considered a crowd in the Glade - other Gladers coming to see what all the commotion was about. George noticed how visibly upset we were and he called down to us to let us know he was coming down, I practically screamed at him to be careful and I told Alby to go wait outside for him at the bottom of the wall, Alby hesitated for a moment but then nodded and began to walk to the wall. George turned to make his way to the vine covered outside of the wall but as he twisted, he slipped. It all happened so fast that I barely had time to register that it was happening, my little blonde haired boy fell from the wall with a scream and hurtled to the ground below, Alby looked up as he screamed and started running to the wall, I followed suit but of course neither of us would catch him. His body hit the ground with an empty thud, he was dead before we reached him.

I sobbed as I held my Georgie's lifeless body and Alby held me close as we buried him in the woods, marking his grave with his name. He was the first boy to die but not the last and as the boys died new ones would take their place, a never ending cycle of life and death. A never ending line of boys and yet I remained the only girl.

* * *

 _Ugh, I really hate first chapters, hopefully this was enough to get you interested. Not exactly a happy chapter at all but it does help to build up the rest of the story so it was needed. Anyways, please leave me a Review, I'd love to know what you think. **~RainbowVeins**_


	2. Chapter 2

I hardly spoke for months, Alby would check I was okay and I would assure him I was fine but even though he knew I was lying he'd let it go. He didn't question the majority of my actions, just let me get on with things, until I requested to become a Runner. We had our first argument in months, the Glade seemed to empty of people as our voices grew louder.

"Why can't I be a Runner?" I demanded as I rinsed the mud from my hands, I'd spent hours that day planting and digging up vegetables and my hands never seemed to be clean these days.

"Because you don't need to be a Runner, we've got plenty! I won't let you, it's too dangerous." Alby replied, he was slamming around but I don't think he had any particular purpose. I dried my hands on my faded green t-shirt, pointless really since it was filthy and wouldn't help me get my hands clean.

"I need to be a Runner, Alby, I need to feel like I'm doing something!" I turned to face him as I dragged my curls up into a messy pony tail.

Alby shook his head at me, "You are doing something, you're a Track-Hoe, you grow our food, that keeps us alive!"

"I don't feel alive, Alby." I said, I stopped shouting, it wasn't getting me anywhere. "I haven't felt alive in months, I want this and I don't need your approval, I just need Nicks. I just thought you deserved to know." I walked away, leaving Alby calling after me.

"Amelia, come back!" He called, "Please just talk to me, I love you!" I halted in my tracks, I'd known for a long time that Alby loved me, but he'd never said it. "I don't want you to get hurt out there."

I looked back at him over my shoulder, "You should have talked to me months ago, all those times you asked me but didn't press, you should have made me talk. Now its too late for that and you don't get to decide what I do." I didn't tell him that I loved him too, maybe once that would have been true but when Georgie had died, I closed up, stopped letting people in and ultimately stopped letting love out, I did love Alby but not in the way he loved me, not anymore. I went to find Nick, to tell him what I wanted, I didn't hide the fact that Alby wasn't okay with it but Nick gave me what I wanted and the next day I left the Glade with the Runners.

I felt better than I had in forever, I felt productive, like I was actually helping. For the first time I wasn't thinking of Georgie, didn't here his scream in the back of my mind, only the breeze running through my hair as I ran with my partner, marking the route we took. We didn't find anything particularly interesting that day, I hadn't expected too but I felt better than I had in a long time. When we returned to the Glade, I searched for Alby but no one had seen him all day. That was all the information I needed, I knew where he was. It was getting dark as I headed out into the woods, towards the Deadheads, the nickname that had been given to the graves that held our fallen.

"Alby," I said gently as I approached, he was right where I thought he would be, standing over Georgie as if he were waiting for him to come out of the mud. He turned to look at me but he didn't smile like he usually did when he saw me. His eyes were red and I wondered if he'd been crying, but I didn't mention it. I took a few steps toward him.

"I didn't know if you'd come back," He said as I came to stand next to him, "Sometimes Runners don't come home and I thought I'd lose you, like we lost George."

"I'm not going to say sorry," I told him, "I haven't felt this good in months, I'm not going to apologise for that." A few moments of silence pat between us before I spoke again, "I'm also not going to tell you I love you too." A look of hurt crossed his face and it pained me to see it, "I do love you, but not in the way you want me too, I can't. When we get out of here, you're going to meet an amazing girl, whatever the world like out there, she's waiting for you and when you meet her, you're going to forget all about me." I smiled to myself and Alby wrapped an arm around me.

"I'd never forget about you, you're my best friend." He told me, I leant my head on his shoulder and we stayed like that for a few minutes before returning to the homestead. We weren't perfect but we were beginning to put the pieces back together, even if some of the pieces had changed.

* * *

 _Second chapter was pretty much finished when I uploaded the first so I thought I'd give it to you now instead of waiting like I usually would, hope you enjoyed it, again its just background to fill up for the main story which will start in the third chapter I promise! This is labelled as OC/Newt and it **will be** Oc/Newt. ~ **RainbowVeins**_


	3. Chapter 3

I looked up at the wall of the glade, names were scratched into it, some more faded than the rest, others were scratched out completely, the ones that were no longer with us, except Georgie's, I retraced his every week or so, so that it remained prominent, I'd also scratched a jagged circle around it so that no one tried to write their own name too close. No one seemed to have a problem with this and if they did no one ever mentioned it.

Even though it had been three months since the day I had become a Runner Alby and I were still hardly speaking, we weren't on bad terms anymore but there was still a distance between us that we just couldn't build a bridge over. I felt stronger than I had in a long time, the running had made me stronger physically but it also made me feel stronger, less like I would break like a glass wall if someone pressed too hard, instead I was solid stone, less penetrable.

We counted the days between each time the Box would arrive with food and a boy - sometimes two, occasionally more but that was rare - and if our guesses were right, the box would come up today. We took it in turns to jump in and collect whoever was inside, this time it was my turn and I wasn't looking forward to it. Greenies could be unpredictable, I hoped he wouldn't even be awake, a few boys passed out in the box and didn't wake up for an hour or two but I was sure I could handle it as long as he didn't Klunk himself, I wasn't going to deal with any Shank that could even control his bodily functions.

I didn't go out with the runners that morning, just in case the box came before I got back - my partner Ben didn't seem like he'd even noticed my absence when he left, though I got the feeling he didn't like me much but that didn't bother me, I barely said two words to him while we were out in the maze, unless it was to point out a change in the route or something. In fact these days I didn't really speak much to anyone, I'd been distant for a while and now I hardly seemed to notice when people didn't talk to me.

I waited around all day, mostly hanging around my old Track-hoe group, a tall, dark haired boy named Zart was their keeper and we'd been friendly when I'd been part of their group, I mostly just sat around them without really helping. It must have been about midday by the time the sound of the Box began to grind in the distance. Everyone stopped what they were doing and began to head over to the box. The twenty two Gladers that weren't out in the maze circled the opening to the box. Two of the boys readied themselves to open the door and I readied my self to jump in. A hand fell on my shoulder and I looked up in to a pair of dark eyes.

"I can do it, if you don't want too?" Alby offered but I shook my head, everyone had to do it when it was their turn, I shouldn't be any different. Rule number one of the Glade, everyone does their part, no slackers. Alby dropped his hand with a short nod, we did not speak often but we still cared about each other a lot, no body knew Alby better than me. The box shuddered to a halt with a loud thud and a final clunk. And the boys threw the door open, with one final deep breath I jumped down into the box to find out what we'd been sent.

I looked down at the boy who we'd been sent, I could tell he was tall, even though he lay passed out on the metal floor of the box, he looked about my own age, had a square jaw and blonde hair that was a little on the long side.

"Rise and shine, Greenie." I said tapping my hand gently on his cheek. He began to stir and after a moment his eyes flickered half open.

"I've died and the Angels are welcoming me to heaven," he groaned and a few of the boys up top sniggered. I shot them a look and they shrunk back away from the edge, his accent was different but it was kind of refreshing to hear - though I think it was more what he'd said than how he'd said it.

"Sorry honey, this isn't heaven and I'm certainly no Angel." I replied, an amused smile crossed my lips. "Now get up!" I concluded and grabbed the boys hand hauling him to his feet, he seemed shocked for a second before his eyes finally focused on me, he wasn't freaking out which was definitely a good start. "Welcome to the Glade." I saw a question begin to form on his lips, they always asked questions, I spoke again before he could ask, "I'll explain everything eventually but for now, let's get you out of this hole, shall we?" I raised my hand up to the group of onlookers above and Alby took my hand, helping me out of the box. I then offered my hand to the new boy, I wouldn't be able to lift him myself of course but the offer of trust was there. He hesitated for a few seconds before taking my hand and I yanked him, with the help of Alby and one of the other boys, out of the box.

* * *

"Here in the Glade we only have three rules," Nick said as he gave the new boy the typical welcoming speech. After that and a few introductions, Nick sent him off with Alby to grab a snack, the boys from the box were always hungry when they arrived. He seemed nice, curious but not to questioning and happy. His smile hadn't really fallen once since he'd properly woken up. It was annoying really.

Later that day we had a party, every Greenie got a party. It was after dark and a fire was roaring and all the boys were playing games of sorts. I sat alone by the fire and watched the festivities. The Greenie seemed to be fitting in quite easily, he laughed with a few of the Trak-hoes who seemed to take him into their group quite seamlessly and I wondered if that were where he would fit once it was time for him to be given a job. It was like he knew I'd been watching him, he looked over at me, his grey eyes met mine directly and he stared at me intently for a moment before breaking out into a smile, I looked away from him and into the flames in front of me instead.

"Hey, Angel." His distinct accent sounded out as he plonked himself down beside me.

"That's not my name, Greenie." I pointed out and he shrugged.

"What's in a name?" He asked, he held his empty hands up to the sky, "I haven't even a clue what mine is." He said, I deduced he was the dramatic time.

"It'll come to you, give it time." I told him, "And for the record, mine's Amelia." With that I stood up and went into the homestead. I had a separate room in the homestead, which was simply a well built shack where the majority of the Gladers slept. Outside I could hear the boys chattering and shouting, I hardly knew most of them these days, the ones I had been close too were either dead or I'd fallen out of step with and I hadn't really bothered much with any Greenies, being a Runner I was hardly in the Glade, hardly had the time to worry about being friends with them, yet I knew most things about them from simply listening to other's conversations - like how Zart disliked tomatoes and Frypan, our cook was afraid of spiders, just little things that probably seemed insignificant.

I sometimes felt insignificant, though It was certainly my own fault and I'm sure if I tried the boys would happily let me in and other times I feel afraid of getting attached to them. It's quite silly really but it bothers me all the same and then the new boy smiled at me and for the first time in just over a year I felt actually happy, like I could have smiled back and have it be truly genuine, I didn't smile back though and I don't know why it made me so happy, he was just another Greenie, he'd probably spend the rest of his life as a builder or a track-hoe until some unfortunate event or his own stupidity resulted in his death, like every other name scratched out on that wall.

* * *

 _Thank you for reading, Finally getting to the actual story though I do feel like I waffled on a lot in this chapter without really much point to it, oops. Anyways hope you enjoyed it and thank you to those that have favourited/followed this fic, much appreciated. Please leave a review if you have any opinions or thoughts you'd like to share, I would love to read them! Thanks again **~RainbowVeins**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Angel!" I heard him call out to me across the Glade, I sighed and turned to see him running towards me, he was fast and still wore that same stupid grin. It only took him a few seconds to reach me.

"That's still not my name, Newt." I told him for the hundredth time as I continued to fill my pack for that day's trip into the maze. His name had come back to him on his first morning in the glade, he'd seemed quite happy to have it back, as most of us had been.

He ignored my comment about my name, "Are you going somewhere?" He asked looking down at the pack I was filling, for the last couple of days I hadn't been out of the glade, I'd told Alby if hurt my ankle and just needed to rest it for a couple of days but really I just wanted to keep an eye on Newt, for some reason I felt like I needed to make sure he was okay all the time.

"Yeah, I'm going into the maze." I told him, "I'm a runner, that's my job." I swear his smile got even bigger and his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Great, I'll come with you." He told me and made a move to pick up my pack. I pulled it out of his reached and laughed.

"You can't, it's against the rules for anyone but runners to leave the glade." I told him and slung the pack over my shoulder.

"I'll just be a runner then." He replied and I rolled my eyes at him.

"You can't just decide to be a runner, it doesn't work like that." I explained, they'd changed the way you became a runner after I just decided to be one. Now not only do you need Nick's permission, you also need Alby's and Minho's, the keeper of the Runners. Then once you've got all three it's put up to a vote for all of the Gladers to decide. I explained all this to Newt and he looked disappointed. "If you really want to be a Runner, make friends with Minho, until then do your work and don't cause trouble, I'll put a word in with Alby. Then it's just down to the vote." Someone called my name and I looked up to see the runners gathering at the wall and Minho waving me over. "I'll see you later," I told him and went to join my group.

When I returned to the maze later that day I was tired and a little disheartened, we still hadn't found anything and even with the walls changing, we were running out of routes to run. Some days I thought we were never going to get out of this place.

* * *

Another month, another boy. There'd been a lot of discussion over the next visit from the box. We'd tried getting out of the glade through the box but a group of us had sat all day inside it and it never went back down, now though there was talk about staying in it for days, there were arguments about who should have to do it until eventually Nick settled it by volunteering himself. Nick had always been a fair leader, he never forced anyone to do anything they weren't at least half happy doing and this was his idea so he should do it. So the day the box arrived Frypan packed up some food and once we'd collected the Greenie and the supplies from the box, we replaced them with Nick and closed the doors.

Five days passed and nothing happened, the box didn't move but no one expected it too. Alby spent the time worrying, he and Nick were quite close but Alby didn't always agree with Nick's plans. A week passed by and still nothing, everybody went by their business as usual. "Do you reckon he's got enough food in there to last any longer?" Newt asked me one morning, I'd been worrying about the same thing, we hadn't given him a lot.

"I'm sure he's fine." I said, "Don't you have work to be doing?" I asked, I had been right about Newt falling in with the Track-Hoes though he seemed to spend the majority of his time pestering me.

"Not much you can do with vegetables till they start growing." He shrugged, "What about you? Most of the runners have already left, you not going with them?"

I shook my head, "If anything happens to Nick, Alby becomes our leader and I become his second." I explained, "Alby wants me around just in case."

I hung around with Newt for most of the day, mostly because no matter where I went he seemed to follow.

"Have you made many friends here?" I asked in a subtle attempt at letting him know he could go away.

"A few, my track-hoe group and I think Minho and I are quite friendly now," he began "and then there's this girl who I think could be a really good friend but she hardly ever smiles and is always shooing me away." He smiled down at me and I made a point of frowning back at him.

"Perhaps she doesn't want to be friends with you?" I suggested, "Maybe she even enjoys not smiling."

Newt shook his head at me, " No one enjoys being unhappy." He said and for the first time his smile faltered, a small hint at something else below the surface.

I was about to tell him my well practised speech about how I wasn't unhappy when there was a commotion over by the Box. People were shouting, a mix of excitement and worry but above it all the winding groans of the box going down.

As Newt and I walked over to the box, Alby joined us. "So they finally gave in and took him away did they?" He asked and I replied with a nod.

"I guess they got tired of waiting." I shrugged.

"Now it's our turn to wait," Newt said and Alby and I looked at him, "We've got to wait for the box to return and hope Nicks not still in there." He didn't say it and he didn't need too we were probably all thinking it, at least a little. They may have taken Nick away but that didn't mean they wouldn't send him back and if the worst came to pass there was no reason to believe they wouldn't send him back dead.

* * *

 _Sorry it took so long to get this too you guys, not the best chapter I've ever written so sorry about that but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. The next ones nearly done so should hopefully up either today or tomorrow, thanks again and please leave a review if you have any comments. **~RainbowVeins**_


	5. Chapter 5

Tensions were running high in the glade the box had been gone for three days and whilst the boys tried to carry on their daily routines none of them seemed to be able to focus very long. Newt and I sat with Alby and Minho, even the runners hadn't gone out today. Newt seemed unfazed by the whole situation but I knew that wasn't the truth, I'd found him crying last night, I hadn't been able to sleep so had gotten up to try and walk myself to exhaustion, I'd found him over by the gardens.

I'd seen a lot of the boys cry, especially the younger ones and Alby once or twice but this was different, I hated seeing any of them cry but seeing Newt cry actually hurt, like a knife through my chest. I'd plonked myself down next to him without so much as a hello and pulled him close to me, wrapping my arms around him and muttering words I hoped would bring him some comfort. "You're not alone here, everybody's with you, I'm with you." I told him and I meant it, I knew what it was like to feel alone and I refused to let Newt feel that.

"What if we never bloody get out of here?" He asked me, it was a question I asked myself every time I came back from running the maze without a single lead and I gave him the answer I gave myself.

"We will," I told him, "It's going to take time but I promise we'll get out of here."

* * *

We hadn't talked about it - I'd tried but he just changed the subject every time so I left it for now - but we also hadn't left each others side all day, even now he sat behind me on a slightly taller stump that had been crudely fashioned into chairs, playing with a strand of my hair, it was strangely comforting in a way. From the look they'd shot each other when they'd come to sit with us both Alby and Minho had noticed but neither said anything as we discussed our next move.

"Why don't we throw a party?" I suggested and Alby looked at me like I'd grown a second head.

"It might help the boys to relax a little, even if it's just for a few hours." Newt agreed,

Minho nodded, "Nick did love parties." He shrugged,

"Loves," I corrected, "Nick loves parties." A short silence fell in the group and we all looked to Alby, "Well Alby, you're in charge," I said and he sighed.

"Fine," he concluded, "Start spreading the word, party tonight." With that he got up and turned to leave but not before looking back and saying, "Amelia, can I have a word?" I looked up at Newt and offered him a small smile before standing up and following Alby. We walked for a little bit before Alby spoke, "So what's going on with you and Newt?" He asked, I guess I expected him to have questions since only yesterday I'd been complaining that Newt never left me alone but I hadn't expected him to be so direct.

"He's not coping, Alby." I replied, we often got boys who couldn't cope with being stuck in the glade for so long but it usually took them a couple of months to really get upset about it and we usually managed to sort them out pretty quickly.

"What do you mean?" Alby asked, "I've never seen him with less than a smile on his face. He seems fine."

"Yes, well you didn't find him crying last night." I replied, it didn't feel right sharing Newts business but Alby needed to know if one of the boys was potentially a hazard. "He's only been here a month and he's already finding it hard, what's he going to be like in two months? Six? A year?" I asked, "We've seen how this can go and if my being his friend makes him feel even the tiniest bit better about being stuck in this hell hole, then I'll be the best shucking friend that boys ever going to get." I didn't mean to snap but sometimes I just didn't feel like I should have to justify everything I did.

"Good that." Alby replied, it hadn't been what I was expecting and it threw me a little, "it's good to finally see you caring about someone again." He concluded and the corners of his lips turned up into a slight smile before he walked away. I guess I had expected more of a fuss, perhaps a hint of jealousy which made me feel kind of bad, I shouldn't expect that of Alby when I'd told him I didn't love him and he had no reason to be jealous since there was nothing going on between Newt and I. I hadn't expected him to say that though, I wondered if I had ever made Alby feel like I didn't care about him, if I had then I hadn't meant too.

I shook my head like it would help to clear it. I didn't know what was going on with me recently but whatever it was I needed to get my head sorted. I wandered back over to Newt and Minho, they were talking but I didn't wait for them to finish "C'mon, Newt. Let's go tell the track-hoes about the party." I said and offered him my hand. He didn't hesitate to take it as he told Minho that he'd see him later. I pulled him up from his seat and we began to walk towards the gardens, our hands lingered together for a minute as we walked before they separated.

"So about last night," I began but Newt didn't let me finish.

"I don't want to talk about it," He told me firmly and I nodded.

"Well, when you finally do want to talk, I'm here, you can talk to me." I told him, "And if not to me then to someone, it would help, I think." He didn't reply but he put his hand back in mine and squeezed it gently, reassuringly. I would make him talk about it eventually, I knew what it was like to keep everything locked inside, closing in on yourself, I didn't want him to feel like that.

We found the track-hoes by the gardens as usual and let them know about the party, they seemed genuinely excited and I told them to spread the word. It didn't take long for everyone in the Glade to know about it and for the first time since the box went down there was a buzz of excitement and liveliness in the glade.

* * *

Newt and I sat in a corner of the Glade just on the edge of the woods, we sat shoulder to shoulder and I was pulling at the grass beneath us while he tugged gently at my hair.

"So, I told Minho I wanted to be a runner," Newt said after a while, dropping the strand of my hair that he'd been knotting into a sort of braid.

"Oh yeah?" I replied and looked up at him, a small smile creeping onto my lips, "What did he say?" I enquired.

"That he'd be happy to have me," Newt shrugged like it was no big deal but the grin on his face said otherwise. None of his smiles seemed real anymore, like now that I had seem past the façade It couldn't be unseen. "He said he's bring it up with Nick when he got back," I could feel the end to that sentence, the one everyone was thinking but no one would say, if Nick comes back, I finished for him.

"In that case I'll bring it up with Alby at the party tonight, so he knows to expect it," I told him, "Alby shouldn't be too hard to convince, I think he actually likes you." I turned away from him again, running a hand through my tangled hair, a sort of hint that he should go back to playing with it. He didn't even hesitate.

* * *

 _I am so sorry, I know I said it would only be a day but a lot of things came up and I didn't have time to finish the chapter until now but as a consolation I am now sick so happen to have plenty of time to finish new chapters for the next couple of days until I'm well again. Thank you so much for being patient with me and actually reading this story! Please take two minutes to review, any words of encouragement or criticism really help to spur me along! Thank you so much! **~RainbowVeins**_


	6. Chapter 6

The sky grew dark and someone lit a fire near the homestead. The party started off pretty sombre but once Gally - one of our Builders - handed around a drink he'd thrown together of goodness knows what, the boys loosened up a little. After a while it was like nothing was wrong and no one was worried. The boys laughed and joked with one another as I took up my usual seat by the fire. Alby came over to say hello and I mentioned Newt possibly becoming a Runner, his face fell and for a moment I thought he might start a fight but instead he shrugged,

"If that boy wants to risk his life to get closer to you, who am I to stop him?" He asked, his words weren't the clearest and I wondered how much of Gally's concoction he'd drank. I was about to ask but he said goodbye and moved on before I could mention it. I poked a long stick into the fire, no particular reason for it except to keep my hands busy.

"This party seems to have worked with everybody, except you." Newt dropped himself into the seat beside me, closer than necessary but I didn't make him move over. "And it was your idea."

I leant my head against his shoulder, "I guess I'm just tired." I said, it wasn't a complete lie but it wasn't the complete truth either, I was worried about Nick and how the boys would react when the box came back and it wasn't a good result. I wasn't completely against any idea of Nick coming back alive but it did seem quite unlikely. I didn't object when Newt wrapped an arm around my shoulder, I was half asleep already.

* * *

Four more days passed and still no box, the party had helped and the boys of the Glade were no longer totally on edge, though they weren't totally happy either. The Runners had started going again and twice I went with them but today I stayed in the Glade, Alby was particularly agitated and I felt I should stick around, if only to stop him from yelling at the younger boys who didn't always stay focused on their jobs.

Newt was in the Gardens with the Track-Hoes, there was weeding to be done so it wasn't as easy for him to skip out on his work. I missed him a little which was strange, I thought I would be happy to have some time alone for a change but it seemed more lonely now than it had before. It was late afternoon by the time he wandered over to me. His hands were the first thing I noticed about him, they were covered in mud and reminded me of when I had been a Track-Hoe all those months ago.

"Your hands are filthy." I told him before he even had chance to talk.

"Well, hey there to you too, Angel." Newt said, I'd given up trying to stop him calling me that and was maybe growing quite fond of it. He made to sit beside me but I stood up before he could.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up." I said, tugging on the sleeve of his t-shirt I lead him over to the water spout over by the homestead. He washed his hands badly, hardly any of the dirt lifted so I took his hands and scrubbed them, I wasn't gentle but I was thorough. Even after the water had stopped running I still had hold of his damp hands, I don't know why I lingered but underneath all that dirt, his hands were soft. Our eyes locked for a second and I felt the entire world around me fade into nothing. Then I pulled away, turned my back on him.

* * *

It was just starting to turn dark when the groaning started, mechanical and whining. The box was coming up. It hadn't been a month, hardly even a week which meant this box contained nothing but answers to their questions. The entire Glade ran over to wait for the results of Nick's experiment. Alby mad ever body stand back, If Nick was dead in there, he was the only one that had to discover the body. I stood beside him as we waiting for the box to come to a halt, Newt and Minho waited to open the doors.

"You don't have to do this alone, Alby." I told him, it wasn't right that he should be the one to bear the possible burden of Nick's death. He shook his head at me.

"You don't need the burden of another body, Amelia." He told her as the box clunked and clicked into place.

Slowly the boys opened the doors and Alby jumped down. When he climbed back out, his eyes were on the ground but I could tell the news wasn't good. I went to him, put my hand on his shoulder and he dragged me into his arms. He wasn't crying, but he was shaking like he was trying hard to the tears back. After a moment, Alby sent a couple of Baggers in to retrieve Nick's body.

We buried him with his name and a warning on the sign that marked his grave, Let this half-shank be a warning to all: You can't escape through the Box Hole. Lastly we scratched his name off the wall.

* * *

The boys were so quiet that night that if I hadn't been able to hear them breath I would have thought I was all alone in this terrible place. One by one the boys trailed off to bed.

Alby said goodnight and left me and Newt by the dimming fire. Newt hadn't smiled since the box had arrived, it was unnerving, even if his smiles hadn't always been sincere they were always there. I moved to sit closer to him and pulled him towards me, wrapping my arms around him and stroking his soft, dull blonde hair.

"We'll get out of here," I told him and he started to cry, like I knew he would, "We'll get out of here, and when we do I'm going to destroy the people that put us here, for making you feel like this." Newt wasn't okay, I don't think he'd been okay when he arrived that day in the box but he'd covered it very well, I wished I could make him feel better but I don't think his sadness was the usual kind. It was something deeper, more rooted in his head than I would like to guess and it worried me.

He stopped crying eventually and instead went silent, he stared off into the nothingness around us, saying nothing and unmoving. If I hadn't been able to feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest I would have assumed he was dead. I didn't go to my room that night, Newt and I fell asleep by the fire.

* * *

 _Hope this double chapter post makes up for the slowness of my writing. Thanks for reading, as always. **~RainbowVeins**_


	7. Chapter 7

When I woke up the next morning my back hurt a little from the awkward angle in which I'd fallen asleep, laid by the fire which had long gone cold. I didn't move though, Newt was still asleep wrapped in my arms, he was warm and snoring lightly. He looked younger when he was sleeping and I was reminded of the times when Georgie would have a bad dream and crawl into my bed in the middle of the night.

I watched Newt sleep for a few minutes until he began to stir, the arm he'd had draped over my waist was moved up to his face where he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning, Angel." He said and my stomach flipped at the sound of his half-awake voice. I told him good morning as I untangled my limbs from his. Just as I'd freed myself from his grip, his arm wove its way around my waist once more and pulled me tightly towards him,

"Just a few more minutes," Newt muttered as he drifted in and out of sleep. I didn't protest, in fact I welcomed the warmth as I tucked my head under his chin and buried my face into his neck, like most of the boys in the Glade he smelt like dirt but underneath that was a sweeter scent that I just couldn't place.

"C'mon," I said after his few minutes had passed. I pulled myself away from him and avoided his hands when they tried to reach for me once more as I sat up. "The others will be waking up soon,"

He smiled up at me, eyes still closed, "So what?" He asked, "I could sleep forever."

I smiled down at him - though he couldn't see it - and wove my fingers gently through his, his smile widened. "C'mon," I said again and yanked his arm as I stood up, his smile turned quickly to an expression of shock as I dragged him to his feet. He steadied himself on his feet and looked at me with an amused expression.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the homestead, it was a little bit of a squeeze but everyone fit with still enough space for a decent sized gap for Alby and I to stand in the middle, we'd never had a leader die before but the procedure for such an occurrence was well known, the second became the first and their choice became second. The new second told the new leader their choice and that was that, set in stone, unchangeable - unless the choice was to die of course.

"Settle down, guys." Ably called out and the mutterings and murmurings around the homestead quietened and all eyes turned to their new leader. "Well," Alby began and though he was doing very well at hiding it, I could tell he was quite unsure of how to word was he had to say, in the end he said it plainly, "Nicks dead, he's not the first of our boys to die and he probably won't be the last," it wouldn't have been the line I would have used but it was the truth. "Now everyone knows that my choice of a second is Amelia so listen to her like you would me or Nick." He went over a few more things with the guys, talked about how over the last few days we'd all been slacking but now it was time to get back to work as usual, the things a leader was supposed to say.

"Now, as my first real act as leader," He said and shot a glance in my direction, "I propose we make Newt a runner." I smiled at him but his back was to me so I turned to look at Newt who sat behind me. He looked a little shocked, but genuinely happy about it. Our Leader agreed, I agreed and Minho, Keeper of the Runners agreed, it fell down to the Vote. Alby counted the Votes, Gally voted no but he always did and his builders followed suit, other no's came from boys who wanted to be runners themselves but the majority voted yes.

Once the meeting was over the boys began to file out, Alby asked me to wait behind so I did, telling Newt to wait for me by the gardens.

"You and Newt seem to be pretty close these days," Alby said and I nodded, "Is he any better? More settled?" He asked.

"No, " I replied, "If anything I think he's getting worse, Nick dying really got to him I think." I took a seat on one of the benches and Alby joined me a moment later, "He hardly knew Nick but I guess the fact that he died trying to get out of here really struck a nerve with Newt..." I trailed off, Alby was looking at me, his eyes were damp with unshod tears and I mentally hit myself for being so stupid. "I'm so sorry Alby, here I am talking about how Newt feels and you just lost one of your closest friends."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him towards me, he sobbed about the loss of his friend, I suppose I should have felt sad too, even cried at least a little since Nick had been around only a few months less than Alby and myself, but I didn't, I didn't really feel anything other than bad, bad that Alby felt so upset, bad that I hadn't noticed, bad that I couldn't fix everything. To me, Nick was just another body for the Deadheads.

After a few minutes Alby calmed down, he pulled away from me and I reached a hand up to his cheek to wipe away his last tear. "It'll be fine." I told him, that's what you were supposed to day when someone was upset, "We'll get through this, we always do."

We talked for a little while, about Nick and then a few other things. Alby's eyes cleared of tears and after a little bit it was like he hadn't even been crying at all. I left first, headed over to the door and was almost through it before Alby asked me another question,

"Amelia?" He said and I looked back towards him, "Who's your Choice?"

That afternoon I took Newt over to the Runner's hut, it was a small building set just into the woods that held all our maps and notes from every trip into the maze, he rifled through a few papers that had been left out on the table and I watched him carefully.

"So, anything we find in the Maze comes here, all the maps we make of each section are logged and kept neatly in the boxes under the table." I said pointing below the table. He crouched down to have a look at them but he didn't open them. "We spend most of our time actually in the maze," I told him "But sometimes we have to look through all our Data, see what patterns we can find, so far we've found that only certain sections are open to us at any one time." Newt listened to me like it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever heard, "And then that pattern repeats itself over and over."

I spent the next couple of hours just going over Runner procedures, checking he knew where everything in the hut was and explaining how the partner system worked, "No one goes alone in the Maze," I told him, "Lucky for you Ben was quite happy to give me up as his partner," I said coming to stand beside him, my shoulder brushing lightly against his. "So I'm afraid you're stuck with me as a partner, you better hope you can keep up." I grinned up at him and he smiled back down at me. I could look into his eyes for hours and still find a new colour. I had thought they were grey when I first saw them but even now I could find at least three shades of blue and a streak of pale green in them too.

"You're so bloody pretty," He said quietly, "Did you know that?" My stomach fluttered and I felt a little dizzy as he brought his hand up to my cheek. I should pull away, I thought to myself but another part of me said to stay right where I was. His palm rested on my cheek and his thumb rubbed gently below my eye. He didn't smile, in fact he looked rather sad really which was how I knew this was really him, no fake smile, no façade of happiness. I could have kissed him then, wanted too, even leant towards him as if I were going too, until Minho came in to the hut.

"You guys all finished in here?" He asked sheepishly as I pulled away from Newt and picked up the loose papers from the table and went to sort them into the other boxes on the shelves built into the walls of the hut.

"Yep," I said, "All done," I could feel my cheeks burning and when I looked back to Newt, he was smiling.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading guys, hope you're still enjoying it. Also thanks for those of you who have taken the time to review for me, it really is greatly appreciated. **~RainbowVeins**_


	8. Chapter 8

"My lungs are burning." Newt said between gasps of air, he was leaning over with hands on his knees. He looked up at me for a moment, his face was flushed as he said, "You do this everyday?" He asked and took another deep breath.

We'd been running for a couple of hours, we didn't run fast but we didn't stop often and when we did it was only for a few seconds to mark something on a the map. I'd run a few more steps before realising he was no longer with me so I wandered back towards him, "Yep, you'll get the hang of it eventually. We can take a break if you want but it can't be for long."

Newt stood up straight, he was still breathing a little heavy but he seemed to be getting a hold of his breath, "I'm starting to see why Ben didn't enjoy being your partner." I narrowed my eyes at him but the smile playing on my lips betrayed me.

I wandered over to the wall of the maze dropped gently down to the floor, my back resting against its cool surface, after a minute Newt joined me. I opened my pack and took out a sandwich that Frypan had made for me that morning. Newt mimicked me, unwrapping his own sandwich and taking a bite. We talked for a little bit, little things like what Frypan put in his sandwich, how the track-hoes took him becoming a runner, that sort of thing.

It went quiet for moment, then Newt asked, "Have you ever tried climbing the walls?" He was looking up at the grey slab of stone opposite us.

My eyes widened a little and I shook my head, "We don't climb the walls."

"But why not?" He asked, and finished the last bit of his sandwich.

"We just don't." I snapped a little as I pushed myself to my feet. I hadn't meant to snap but his question had been quite close to a conversation I didn't want to have.

"C'mon, we've got to finish before the walls close and we're stuck out here for the grievers to get." I didn't wait for him as I set off slow-jogging the rest of our route. Once I could hear the slaps of his shoes against the ground as he ran to catch up with me, I sped up until I was at my usual pace.

* * *

It we getting dark when we finally got back to the glade and the walls closed only a few minutes after we arrived.

"I didn't think you shanks were coming back," Minho laughed as we wandered over to where he and Alby sat near the homestead. "What happened, Amelia? Did Newt slow you down?" I offered him a small smile and a shrug. Alby, who sat beside him, looked worried, probably because we'd got back so late, I rested a hand reassuringly on his shoulder for a second.

"I'm going to go put the route we mapped away in the Runner's hut." I said and left the boys too it. I could hear them chattering away as I left.

"You've upset her," I heard Alby say and I knew he was talking to Newt, "What have you said?" I didn't hear Newt's reply, I'd walked too far away.

* * *

I sat at the table in the runner's hut. I had meant to simply file away out route from today and then leave but instead I'd found myself pulling out boxes, spreading their contents over the table and studying them. I matched routes and areas in the maze were sectioned by numbers. The papers were thin, when I laid them on top of one another I could the next sheet below, and the next. This meant I could build the maze completely out of the routes we'd run. The results I found were less than promising an ever a little bit more than disheartening. I rested my head in my hands while the flame from the torch on the wall flickered, causing the shadows around me to dance.

"Hey, Angel." I recognised his voice without even looking up. I think I would be able to pick his voice out of crowd with only a few words.

"Newt," I sighed, "What are you doing here?" I rubbed the heel of my hand into one of my eyes, I was tired.

"I could ask you the same thing," He said as he came to stand next to me, I could feel his warmth behind me as he stood looking over my shoulder. "Whoa, is that the maze?" He asked and I nodded, "It's smaller than I thought it would be." He commented.

"You have no idea." I replied and began to gather the pages back into the appropriate boxes, he asked what I meant but I shrugged and dismissed it. He let it go and helped me file away the remaining pages. "So what are you doing here?" I asked again.

"I came looking for you," He said, like it should have been obvious.

"Oh," I replied, "Why?" I asked as I pushed a box up on to its shelf and reached for the next one, he took my hands before they could reach the next box and wove his fingers through mine.

"Angel, look at me." He said and let go of one of my hands to lift my chin so our eyes would meet, "I'm sorry." He told me, "I'm not sure what I said that upset you - and Alby and Minho wouldn't tell me - but I am sorry for whatever it was." I nodded, it wasn't fair of me to get upset when he didn't even know but I didn't think I was quite ready to share just yet.

"It's okay," I told him as I brought my free hand up to my face to rest over the one he hand cupping my cheek. I offered him a smile.

"I wish you would never stop smiling," He said, "You're beautiful all the time but when you smile, I can't see anything else and never want too." I moved my hand from my own face to his, running my thumb along the smooth skin of his cheek as I gently pulled him closer to me. He dropped his hand from my face and instead wrapped his arm around my waist, closing the little gap we had between us.

It was a slow kiss, his lips were soft against my own and in that moment I felt more complete than I had in over a year. My stomach felt like it might have fallen out, but in a good way. We didn't say anything as we pulled away from one another but we both smiled and his was genuine and wonderful. We walked back to the homestead in the dark, we held hands or he wrapped an arm around my waist, it didn't matter as long as we were touching. I could see the light of a fire and several torches burning a little in the distance, I wondered how many boys would still be awake, though I didn't really care, none of them mattered right now. There was only me and Newt.

* * *

 _ugh why do I write romance stories, I'm no good at them and they give me feelings. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it at least. Thanks for reading **~RainbowVeins**_


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